eaps in the direction of
the boat and barking as if possessed.

"Oh, where are the boys?" cried the distracted Jean. They
lingered in an agony of suspense, not daring to leave until they
saw that Jock and Alan were safe, and then from a little distance
up the shore came the pewit call. Sandy rose to the emergency
and, pulling frantically at the oars, succeeded in reaching the
point from which the call seemed to come. The scared faces of
Jock and Alan rose from the bracken, and in another moment they
had leaped into the boat, nearly upsetting it as they did so.
Alan seized an oar, and he and Sandy together got the boat out of
sight behind a bend in the shore. Here they hid among the bushes
on the bank until they saw the man appear at the landing-place,
scan the lake carefully, and then go back into the woods, calling
the dog to go with him. Even then they were afraid to stir for
they did not know whether he had gone back to camp or was
stalking about among the trees searching for them.

They waited for what seemed a week but saw nothing further of the
man, and when at last they heard the report of a gun and the
barking of a dog far away down the mountain, they felt safe. He
was evidently looking in another direction for the intruders, and
at once Alan gave the word to go back to their own side of the
lake. They skirted the shores, keeping a sharp lookout all the
while, and at length reached the landing-place. The weary members
of the Clan breathed a sigh of relief as they found themselves
safe on their own ground again, arid their spirits rose.

Jock told what Alan had written on the rock, and Alan was so much
impressed by that achievement that he took out the blue chalk and
on a rock by the tarn wrote "Here Angus Niel, gamekeeper
and poacher, shot a stag"; and on the stone where the boat had
been, he put the mystic initials "R. R. C."

"There," said Alan, pausing to admire his handiwork, "that'll
keep him guessing, and scared too."

"What can we do next?"

"Take away his boat," said Jean promptly.

"Good idea!" cried Alan.

"Where can we hide it?" asked Jock.

"I'm mortal hungry," said Sandy. "Couldn't we eat first?"

"No food until this job is done," said the Chief firmly. "We'll
never have another chance when we know where the other man and
Angus both are. It's now or never!"

"But where shall we hide it?" demanded Jock again.

"I'll tell you," cried Jean, her eyes dancing with mischief. "We
can carr